Aarau shooter: 43-year-old fired over 40 times into crowd – one dead, six injured
The Aargau cantonal police classified the shooting at the Aarau rave as a mass shooting. The 43-year-old suspect is in custody pending investigation.
Investigation update after mass shooting at Aarau rave
As 20 Minuten reports, the Aargau cantonal police presented the current investigation status of the shooting at the Aarau rave on Wednesday afternoon. At the centre of the case is a 43-year-old Swiss national without a migration background.
According to findings so far, the suspect drove his vehicle to a car park near the horse racing track in the early hours of Sunday morning and approached the site on foot. From outside the premises, he fired a Kalashnikov AK-74 assault rifle more than 40 times indiscriminately into the crowd of people, changing his position and direction of fire several times. At that time, significantly more than 100 people were still present at the location. "The attack is to be classified as a mass shooting scenario," the police said.
The man then returned to the car park and fired a pistol several times there – including at a vehicle driving away. He subsequently fled in his car in the direction of Aarau. One person died; the police have now recorded six injured, after another affected person came forward on Monday. All victims are accidental victims according to current information.
The suspect was arrested in the canton of Jura, where he resides, in the night of Monday. He surrendered to the cantonal police, said public prosecutor Christoph Rüedi. Regardless of this, the Aargau cantonal police investigation had already progressed to the point that identification of the perpetrator was foreseeable. The Lenzburg-Aarau public prosecutor's office has opened a criminal investigation.
Three weapons registered to him were secured in his vehicle: two pistols and an AK-74 assault rifle. Initial forensic examinations revealed matches between cartridge cases found at the crime scene and the secured weapons. The weapons were legally acquired around 20 years ago; they are not military weapons.
The suspect completed military training in Switzerland as a battalion cook, left compulsory military service in 2013 and returned his service weapon. According to public prosecutor Rüedi, there are indications that the man suffers from mental health problems; however, no confirmed findings or medical diagnosis are yet available.
There remain no confirmed findings regarding the motive. According to police, there are no indications of an extremist background or of accomplices or witnesses who failed to come forward. During questioning, the suspect largely exercised his right to remain silent and is in custody pending investigation. Investigations are being conducted for, among other offences, intentional killing, murder and violations of the Weapons Act.
What remains unclear to investigators is why the man drove from the Jura to Aarau and why he chose the rave as his target in particular.
Source: 20 Minuten